We specialise in the assessment, formulation, and treatment of children and adolescents. A number of the McLaughlin Psychological team hold a specialist interest in child and family work and in particular children who are looked-after or adopted and those young people who have experienced trauma and adverse life experiences. We understand that the impact of developmental and relational trauma can have profound consequence for the emotional and behavioural functioning of young people as well as their global development. It is therefore crucial that parents, carers, and professionals supporting young people understand their complex needs in terms of the origins of any difficulties, potential triggers for trauma in the presents, and perhaps most importantly how to respond in trauma informed and psychologically planned ways in order assist the child/adolescent to effectively manage this in the present and to heal from trauma.

Work can be carried out directly with young people but also with their parents, carer/s, or the professionals supporting families such as Social Care. The team are experienced in offering consultation to the network around a child including residential children’s homes, foster carers, adoptive parents, schools, and the Youth Offending Team to name but a few. Therefore, for those young people who are not ready or yet able to engage in direct one to one work/therapy it may be more appropriate to scaffold the network around the child to deliver care that is trauma informed supporting the child to access the same therapeutic principles indirectly.

The team are also experienced in the completion of a range of neurodevelopmental diagnostic assessments with a view to establishing the presence (or ruling out) of conditions such as Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well as learning disability and specific learning needs.